The Road We Travel
Chapter I: The Journey Home

It had been nearly three weeks since Annabeth and Percy had arrived at New Rome. The journey from New York to their new permanent residence guiding the pair on a long, lazy path through the heart of the America. On their journey they had stopped at as many sights and attractions as they could squeeze into their journey. One of the many perks, as it turned out, for having no set schedule and no quest hanging over their heads was that they could take their time and plot a course at their own pace.

But despite all they had seen, Hoover Dam was the highlight of their journey, mostly due to Annabeth's unrestrained wonder at the technological marvel before them, and Percy, simply treasuring the amazement of Annabeth's reaction. In part for the son of Poseidon, it was a blessing to simply walk the tour while listening to Annabeth tell him all the fascinating details of the making and construction of this wonder, but more than that, he was beside himself just knowing he was with the young woman who possessed so much of his heart. He had come to this dam first as a stop over while seeking to rescue her, and now he was here again with her by his side. In that context, it felt as though their journey had come full-circle.

But now, here they were, situated in their home at New Rome and working on a completely unrelated problem the pair had never had to deal with before; the unabashed hero-worship that seemed to follow them wherever they went. It was first obvious to them the moment they arrived. New Rome, interestingly enough, had a designated parking facility for residence when needing to travel beyond the borders of the city, and so as Annabeth and Percy made their way to announce their arrival to Frank and Hazel, and be given the keys to their temporary residence while their own estate was being built, dozens of residents within the city offered their assistance in carrying their many boxes from the SUV they had driven to their home.

At first the pair simply felt it was an act of neighborly kindness to help move in new inhabitants to the city, but years of battle training and vigilance when learning to spot danger made them aware when they were being watched; and the people who assisted with the transportation of their supplies and possessions were not watching the pair of heroes, but gawking at the amazement at seeing two of the most celebrated demigod heroes in the world.

They had tried desperately to ignore the attention, but it seemed to follow them wherever they went. The highlight of this given by the Ceres' Best grocery store of all places. The couple, having thanked all those who had helped carry their possessions to their temporary but new home, had opted to go to the closest store to their house and purchase food and other necessities. Three days after their initial journey, they had to make a return trip, to which they found an image of themselves plastered to the front of the building with the caption reading 'Preferred grocer of the Olympian Heroes'.

Annabeth had been incensed at the understanding that their image was being used to promote this store which, in all reality was only perused due to its close proximity to their house. Percy however took the discovery in stride, commenting jokingly about this being 'his favorite store on the Citadel,' a reference that left the daughter of Athena baffled.

Still, after a calm yet tense discussion with the store manager, they had agreed to remove the signage, but this, above all else, drove home how much influence the two had within the demigod community. Had they not been such humble and modest people, they would have greatly enjoyed the attention, but they humble and modest about their actions, and thus the notice left them both uneasy and embarrassed.

It had thus become part of their daily routine that if they needed to leave the house at all, they would wait until Frank and/or Hazel was available to accompany them. Having a fellow Hero of the Seven with them often worked to defer much of the attention they were receiving, made doubly so when said hero was also Praetor.

Yet, despite the efforts taken to try to adjust, the young couple felt it difficult to integrate to the celebrity status they seemed to have thrust upon them within the city, and try as they might, could not ignore the parade of onlookers and gawkers that would make it a point to divert their normal path to conveniently find a way to walk in front of their house in an effort to catch a glimpse of the two celebrated heroes.

This of course led them to their covert actions, spending much of their time walking through the city's back alleys and streets, an excursion that brought a new sense of wonder to the pair. They had readily become aware that there was no police force in New Rome, there was no need of one. Crime simply didn't happen in the city. This was a telling contrast to New York and other places the couple had traveled in their time of questing. The inhabitants on this city respected one another and treated each other as extended family, and it was a reality both comforting and humbling to be within their midst.

That however did not deter Percy and Annabeth's covert exploration. The less attention they drew to themselves, the more time they had to share with each other. That was how they came to find their favorite spot in the city, at least currently. Nestled among the grove of aspen trees situation in Legion Park was a secluded hill that overlooked much of the commerce district in this part of the city. From this vantage there were many points that the pair could focus on, and depending on their mood, they would sit together, nestled in each others arms and watch the many citizens scurry about doing their daily shopping, or could see the playground to their left and watch children scurrying about, rushing on slides and swings and enjoying being kids.

But the view they treasured most was Amber Lake, a rather sizable canoe lake in the heart of the park with a large fountain in the center. From various times of day, given the position of the sun, the lake itself seemed to shine like a mirror and the pair would be mesmerized by the simple beauty of the scene before them. And it was in this position the two found each other today, Percy leaning against a large tree with Annabeth sitting in his lap, both having their attention drawn towards the lake that was framed by flowers, trees and shrugs, creating a picture of untainted peace within their minds.

Sitting there, Percy had his right arm draped over Annabeth's right shoulder and angled across her chest, his hand cupping her left arm as he held her close to him while his left arm was looped around her waist. For Annabeth, her head was turned slightly and resting against the crook of his shoulder, her eyes closed with a gently peaceful smile upon her face.

So many times Percy found himself lost with how beautiful she was, he had spent so much time categorizing all the various ways she had stolen his breath with just her being near him that he had lost count. In this moment though, with her eyes resting and a smile of tranquil comfort, he again had to remind himself how to breath.

As he moved his arm to brush some lose strands of hair from her face, she hummed in comfort as her smile stretched a little further.

"Sorry," he said quietly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't sleeping," she answered in reply, raising her head and opening her eyes to lock onto his. "I was just enjoying feeling your arms around me." He must have made a face of shock or perhaps it was the explosive heat of the blush that colored his cheeks because Annabeth laughed at the sight of him and gently pressed her lips to his.

As they sat their in the warmth of each others presence, Annabeth lowered her head to rest it against his chest while her fingers toyed with the hem of his shirt. An expression of melancholic apprehension crossed her face as she devoted her attention to fiddling with the fabric of his shirt. She had bordered on the edges of sleep, wrapped in Percy's arms, safe and secure in his embrace, and yet her own fears held her back.

She could not help the resentment that had burrowed in her heart, and despite her best efforts, the anxiety was omnipresent within her, that she would wake up and find him missing again. It was a paranoia that, despite her most logical understanding, she could not excise from her heart. Six months he had been stolen from her without so much as a care of what this did her mental state, and even beyond that, for years, she was nothing more than a puppet of the gods. No matter how hard she tried, how hard she wanted to believe it was not the case, the fear permeated along the edges of her consciousness that if she allowed herself to fully embrace the comfort she felt with him, that she would wake up to find him missing, and that fear, as always, nearly broke her.

Percy, sensing her body trembling against his, held her tighter as she worked her way out of the panic attack. These had been ever present since returning from their mission to Greece, and while the frequency was becoming, at least manageable, it was all the proof they needed to support the idea that they may well never get beyond it all.

"Hey, I'm here, okay?" Percy said softly, his arms squeezing ever firmly, pulling her closer to his body as he prayed his comfort would be enough. After several minutes of holding her, her nervous shivers subsided as she clutched his shirt in a white-knuckle grip and held on, anchoring herself to him as she so often did.

"Sorry," she said hauntingly as she swallowed hard, the same that always followed an attack close to the surface.

"Don't be," he responded, his lips lingering in the curls that nestled upon the crown of her head. "How many times have you held me through similar fits? We can't just wish this all away."

"I know," she responded before falling silent once more. "I just wish, wish that we could get past it all, you know?"

"Yeah, I do..." he said, holding her a little tighter, wishing he could take her pain from her, but realizing in the same instant how silly that hope would be, as he had no room within his own soul to shoulder it. "What do you think about...you know, taking your dad up on his offer? Talking to him about everything, letting his council us? I mean, he did offer..."

The pair fell silent for a moment while Annabeth considered the suggestion. It took but a few moments for her to nod her head in agreement, accepting the idea, mainly because nothing else they had tried had worked to relent the trauma of their lives. In that moment however Percy knew how desperate Annabeth was to be rid of the fear and anxiety, the PTSD that hounded them relentlessly since crawling their way out of hell.

Her relationship with her father was definitely improved that it had been in years past, yet she was still hesitant to talk to him about much of her past, mostly due to the fear of him judging her and ruining what marginally stable relationship they had built. To agree to the proposal simply indicated that she saw no other option, and that lost confidence that Annabeth possessed, to plan a strategy that would prove victory broke Percy like nothing ever had.

For several minutes they remained, sheltered from the world on their little hideaway hill overlooking the lake and fighting to rebuild their comfort and place in the world, and yet, the only place they could find that peace was with each other.

After a long many minutes, Annabeth finally broke the silence. "What do you say we go home, make some lunch and spend the rest of the day snuggled on the couch watching movies?"

"I love your plans," he whispered, once more kissing her temple as she stood from her position and held out her hand to help him to his feet. Today, they would make the best lunch meat sandwich the world had ever seen, they would cuddle on the couch and watch comedies and action flicks until they became too tired and pass out on the couch.

Tomorrow, they had planned to go to the campus bookstore and gather their books for their classes. Perhaps they would even call Frederic to set up counseling with him.

And after that...well, their future was largely open. The hurdles they had to traverse were no less daunting, but Elpis still resided by the Hearth, and that gave them some measure of comfort. For now, perhaps that would be enough.

A/N: So new series, this one follows the events of Homecoming. Don't worry, this is going to be a much lighter series, some funny one-shots, some serious, some scary, but I felt this was a good bridge, knowing that they were in a city that made them feel safe, they could focus on the unresolved trauma that was not completely handled in the first story. This one though will be more about traversing the path of their lives, college, marriage, their life together, all of that.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed and if you're kind enough to read please be kind enough to review. Thank you